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Movie Reviews & TV Show ReviewsTue, 03 Mar 2015 18:29:54 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1The Seven Most Disappointing Book-to-Film Adaptationshttp://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/the-seven-most-disappointing-book-to-film-adaptations/
http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/the-seven-most-disappointing-book-to-film-adaptations/#commentsTue, 07 Oct 2014 15:20:49 +0000http://www.screenjunkies.com/?p=265696Film adaptations rarely capture the nuances — subtle or otherwise — of their source material. Here are a few examples of those cinematic failures that either should have been done better, or never even attempted.

]]>Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel Gone Girl, which you can’t ride a train in a major city without seeing at least one person reading, hit the cinema on Friday in an adaptation by David Fincher. I saw it over the weekend, and suffice it to say, Fincher has done it again, creating a solid, compelling film that justified the sold-out shows and audiences with which I had to contend. (All this despite a conclusion that angered me to no end, but I digress).

As bibliophiles can attest, many book-t0-film adaptations don’t work out quite as well. In fact, most of the time, they don’t. So many contemporary books that sit on the New York Times Bestseller list for any significant period of time are fast-tracked to become movies, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the authors that write them do so with that aspiration.

However, beloved canonical texts that are a half-century old at the very least come with so many years of interpretation and classroom curricula established around them that they’re arguably more difficult to adapt because so many people love them. For years I’ve envisioned a contemporary adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird with Brad Pitt playing Atticus Finch, but considering it’s one of the most loved books of all time, it could be the best movie Frank Darabont ever made and still piss people off.

Film adaptations rarely capture the nuances — subtle or otherwise — of their source material. That’s somewhat expected when working with a limited run time, but when you have horribly miscast characters or whole plot lines dramatically reduced or removed altogether, the movie can become inherently crappy. Here are a few examples of those cinematic failures that either should have been done better, or never even attempted.

1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979): Maya Angelou’s 1969 autobiography is loaded with very touchy, adult themes (child rape, racism) that wouldn’t translate well into a made-for-TV film in 2014, let alone in 1979 when it was still a big deal to hear the word “damn” uttered on a major network program. Despite a cast full of great, now-departed black actresses (Ruby Dee, Esther Rolle, Madge Sinclair), the film couldn’t carry the weight of its themes on its medium. Since Angelou recently died, it would be a great time for studios to consider a big-screen adaptation.

2. Wanted (2008): Mark Millar’s original comic series, about a young heir to a super villain named Wesley who rises from loser-dom to realize his own villainy, is a classic among comic lovers despite being only a decade old. The 2008 adaptation swapped out the superhero theme for career assassins and focused more on Angelina Jolie’s Fox, Wesley’s mentor. It would’ve worked just fine as a standalone action film, but when compared to the book, it falls flat in almost every regard. Despite it’s R rating, the film is far more restrained film than the book, and Fox, a quick-witted, sassy black woman in the book, is portrayed by a sultry, somewhat annoying Jolie. A $3.99-Blu-ray-bin-at-Best-Buy type of flick, really.

3. Beloved (1998): This one isn’t even very fair, because no one had any damn business trying to pull off Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic for the big screen. The book has a fractured narrative that demands at least two readings to soak it all in, so the film was bound to disappoint. The performances from Oprah Winfrey and company were decent, but this remains perhaps the least adaptable text on this entire list.

4. The Scarlet Letter (1995): I was a teenager when I read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel and when this Demi Moore-led fiasco came out, and I remember how the movie was marketed as Zalman King-esque soft-core porn undeserving of the source material. The book explored complicated themes of sin and adultery in a puritanical society and has enjoyed time firmly planted on banned books lists for decades. The movie explored…Demi Moore’s skin. Perhaps the most egregious sin of the film is its happily-ever-after ending that stands in diametric opposition to the book’s. You ought to be ashamed, Roland Joffe.

5. The Namesake (2006): One of the worst sins of movie adaptations is the distillation of important plot threads. Taking a couple things out for the sake of brevity and running time is one thing; quickly glossing over significant events and relationships established in the book is another. It bugged me to see one of Gogol’s relationships from the book glossed over so quickly in the film, which wasn’t so bad standing alone. Points added back for seeing Kumar play a serious role.

6. The Great Gatsby (2013): The only example in this list of a book and movie I hated equally. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus is a ridiculously overrated piece of literature, but Baz Luhrmann‘s glossy, gauche 3D adaptation made me want to jam my old, dog-eared paperback in my garbage disposal. Leonardo DiCaprio is, in theory, one of the best choices to play the doomed Jay Gatsby, but he was so much more compelling playing a very similar role in The Wolf of Wall Streetfrom the same year that it’d be a no-brainer if I had to choose.

7. The Complete Persepolis (2007): Similar to The Namesake, another example of a film that would’ve been fine on its own had it not been for superior source material. Persepolis the graphic novel is 341 pages of author Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical story of a young girl rebelling against Islamic fundamentalism in 20th Century Iran; while the approach of having the animation as a mirror reflection of the book’s art (a la Sin City) is cool, the movie’s 95-minute run time wasn’t enough to do it justice. Marji’s betrayal at the hands of a boyfriend was so quickly glossed over, you’d miss the whole damn thing if you blinked.

]]>The Great Gatsby, an enduring literary work, if not The Great American Novel, spawned a movie that was so ephemeral that most people had forgotten about it before it was even released. To take such an institution into turn it such a fleeting “blip” on the cultural radar (and similarly-sized one in the realm of film criticism) is an impressive feat in and of itself.

Then you think about what options Baz Luhrmann had when he decided to take his style of spectacle and surfaces and lay it atop one of the most cherished and resonant works of art this country has ever consumed. It was required reading in high school, which gives many moviegoers all the necessary credentials to run around after the film ends yelling, “The book was better.” Any adaptation in earnest leads down that road. People even did it with The Firm and Jurassic Park. They would have a field day with Gatsby.

So Luhrmann, even more so than he did with Romeo + Juliet, looked to subvert any and all expectations. All of them. ALL of them. He made a movie, that, when considered against its source material, was like comparing apples and elephants. He demonstrated hollowness not through complex character studies, but by hitting the audience with so much spectacle that they wouldn’t have the energy to look for or recognize substance if they wanted to.

And the Gatsby soundtrack took him about 40% of the way there. (I would say another 50% was done with set design and costuming, but that’s a discussion for another day.) Even the track listing reads as chaotic and overwhelming. Take a look:

Jay-Z. Jack White. Gotye. Gotye? GOTYE? Think about that. The biggest one-hit wonder of the 2010’s was put on a soundtrack (after his success) for a film that takes place in 1922 and serves as a timeless account of the American sensibility. Why would someone do that if they didn’t expect (hope?) that the film would be consumed and forgotten as quickly as possible?

They wouldn’t.

With the exception of Gotye, and probably Lana del Rey, all the artists here have achieved some form of legitimacy. Dare I say, even will.i.am carries some cultural significance with him. But the soundtrack doesn’t feature their best work, or even good work. It features their names. And parlays those names into more spectacle. An Andre 3000 and Beyonce duet is pretty bombastic. Having them do a cover is more so. Having them do an Amy Winehouse cover takes it a step further and makes a statement tantamount to someone putting a bucket on their head and slamming it repeatedly with a large spoon. It might not make sense, it’s not pleasing, but it’s plenty loud and forces you to wonder what the hell is going on.

The statement itself is immaterial, just like the statement the film makes. The Great Gatsby doesn’t aspire to re-tell the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic, pick up where it left off, or set it in a different context. It attempts to leverage the Gatsby brand to seemingly no end. That is to say, “no purpose.” And its soundtrack leverages the brands of familiar artists, songs, and conventions (covers, remixes, and guest spots) to do the same thing, also with no end in sight.

Soundtrack Studies exists to give greater meaning, both in the context of a film and culture, to a collection of songs that were curated for (hopefully) a very specific purpose. The Great Gatsby soundtrack is painfully crafted and thoughtful, but the end to which it is seems to subvert much scrutiny. The impact is made on the track listing, (“A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” by Fergie? Really?) and in the dance sequences, but by the time it makes it to a playlist or an iPhone, its work has been done, and there’s little left.

In that regard, this soundtrack serves as the perfect accompaniment to the film. While a scoop of ice cream is a nice, deserved indulgence, both Gatsby and its soundtrack are the equivalent of eating a gallon while binge-watching The Killing. The act makes a statement, but not necessarily one you want to participate in, and almost certainly not one that you’d want to experience more than once. And that remains thematically consistent with the novel. Which I suppose means that Baz Luhrmann was an inspired choice. He’s someone who packages excess as the content itself.

Anyway…the track listing. That’s what we’re here to do. Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” is performed with an orchestra, and also without Beyonce. Jay-Z has a song called “100$ Bill,” because Jay-Z was probably going to write and perform that song regardless of his involvement in this film.

Jack White strays out of his comfort zone to give us excess in the form of a Led Zeppelin ripoff interpretation in his cover of U2‘s “Love is Blindness.” The xx don’t depart at all from their formula because they already traffic in the breathy excess of mood music that has been widely propagated since Zero 7’s “Waiting Line” from Garden State.

Lana del Rey continues to be completely unremarkable with her “Young and Beautiful,” but I’m sure her name next to a track called “Young and Beautiful” was all that was really required of her participation, so all that’s fine.

And the rest is in keeping with the theme, and similarly inconspicuous. What’s so interesting about this collection of music is that it if just one or two such songs existed here, they would have the opportunity to be remarkable. But in concert, they turn into a sort of white noise, just like staring at a sparkler loses its charm after about 30 seconds.

This soundtrack and this film both last for a lot longer than 30 seconds, but both were constructed to be basely amusing and almost instantly forgettable. And when you consider that this eminently forgettable work is based on a the cornerstone of American literature and the preeminent pop artists of that time, excess and waste become a virtue, which, as all our English teachers would smugly remind us, is sorta what Gatsby was all about.

Like Tim Burton and Wes Anderson, Baz Luhrmann is one of a handful of directors whose name evokes an instantly recognizable visual style. There’s something admirably self-assured about the Australian filmmaker’s ability to insert anything – dance competitions in Strict Ballroom, Shakespeare in Romeo + Juliet, ultra-generic opera plots in Moulin Rouge – in the Luhrmannizer, extruding a homogeneous, garish but fun product that exhausts as much as it exhilarates.

As you’ve probably already seen in the film’s trailer, The Great Gatsby brims full with the kind of optical overdose that Luhrmann has made his signature. The party scenes, which rival the ruffles-and-lace circus madness of Moulin Rouge, have glittery confetti and Disneyland fireworks sparkling above Jazz Age twerkers, swarms of women dressed like sea creatures, and a Williamsburg version of that creepy dancing man from the Six Flags commercials.

The construction and choreography of these set pieces are as sleek as ever, but the rest of the film is astonishingly visually inept. Much too often, Tobey Maguire’s voiceover tells us how the characters feel and how they develop instead of allowing us to see for ourselves. The resulting effect is to make the movie feel less like an adaptation than the next generation of books-on-tape, where we absorb the story aurally. But hey, it comes with some pretty if utterly redundant illustrations if you want to something to look at.

To be fair, Luhrmann is also faithful to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel in a good way – in that the plot is lifted pretty much straight from the book. It’s the Roaring Twenties, and Nick Carraway (Maguire), a wide-eyed Midwesterner, moves to the Big Apple to become a bankster like all the other cool kids. His next-door neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), is a reclusive young millionaire who ropes him into arranging an accidentally-on-purpose reunion with Gatsby’s first love, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), who happens to be Nick’s cousin. Nick agrees, despite the fact that Daisy is already married to – and has a daughter with – patrician douchebag Tom (Joel Edgerton, Australia’s answer to Benedict Cumberbatch). The small cast of pretty young things also includes Tom’s working-class mistress (Isla Fisher) and girl-golfer Jordan (Elizabeth Debicki), the only character that resembles an actual person, despite existing only to introduce Nick to How Things Are Done in rich-person circles.

As intended by Fitzgerald, Gatsby is a stern fable about the moral hazards of wealth. But a studio film made by a bunch of millionaires and financed by a bunch of billionaires has pretty much no chance at remaining Occupy agitprop. So Luhrmann remade Gatsby for the multiplex as a saga of romantic martyrdom, rendered all the more glamorous and tragic by the opulence the source material condemned. DiCaprio is the perfect actor for this Gatsby, despite speaking in a bizarre accent somewhere between Katharine Hepburn and a fancy horse that’s so wispy it tends disappears by the end of a sentence. He has only a single substantial scene here, but his Gatsby has so many echoes from the Leomania days – his roles from Romeo + Juliet, Titanic, and Catch Me If You Can – that all DiCaprio has to do to summon estrogen devotion is to stand around in spiffy linen suits looking dapper. For her part, Mulligan adds her natural sweetness and kitten eyes to their thoroughly adequate pantomime of mutual adoration.

Unfortunately, the camera returns again and again to Maguire’s Nick, a garrulous nonentity. When the character’s narration doesn’t fast-forward through all the interesting action for you, Maguire’s proximity to DiCaprio distracts from the film’s fiction by reminding you of the BFF stars’ real-life adventures in poonhoundery as the senior partners of the Pussy Posse. Their sexploits would probably embarrass the novel’s Gatsby, but their Hollywood excess would make a great Baz Luhrmann movie.

See it now, See it later, or Run in the other direction? Run in the other direction, unless you need another fix of Jack and Rose.

]]>True to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s vision, not only will a representation of shattered American dreams in upper-crust New York feature eye-popping and mind-blowing 3D technology, but also the popular-at-the-time musical accompaniments ofJay-Z, a staple of any 20’s-era music enthusiast’s collection.

This is only mildly surprising, considering that Baz Luhrmann used the Jigga-Man/Yeezy track “No Church in the Wild” accompanying the trailer.

And if Jay-Z’s lyrics are to be believed, no one’s more familiar with the American dream. Which I guess would make Beyonce Daisy Buchanan, and would make Kanye West Nick Carraway, which is something we’ve always suspected all along.

]]>At first blush, it would seem that Prince and Lady Gaga might not adhere to the genetics of The Great Gatsby, a seminal indictment of things over-the-top and fake.

However, upon closer inspection, yup. That first blush was totally right.

Never mind, though. Baz Luhrmann‘s love of unnecessary spectacle, coupled with delay in the release of the film to May 10, 2013 has afforded him some time to just cram starpower into his take on the F. Scott Fitzgerald masterpiece. Now that this news comes to light, I don’t know how I was ever able to mentally picture the Hamptons party without “Bad Romance,” and “Pussy Control” playing in the background, gently underscoring the seething, troubled upper crust.

I’ll only have to imagine it for about seven more months before Luhrmann puts all the pieces in place for me. Now if only we could get Korn and Crazy Town in that Death of a Salesman adaptation that has been kicking around Hollywood.

]]>Nobody said adapting The Great Gatsby would be easy. Baz Luhrmann has never been one to back down from an ambitious project and there’s no doubt that he’s been working overtime to bring the classic novel to theaters. However, he ignored the golden rule. No running on set.

While filming in cramped quarters just before Christmas, Luhrmann struck his head while passing beneath a camera crane. He hit the weights that balance the arm and cracked his head open as a result. Three stitches later, he’s fine but shooting was shut down early before the holidaybreak, giving Leonard DiCaprio more time to hang out on yachts with insanely hot women. I wish him a speedy recovery, though it’s likely nothing hurts him as bad as the reception of Australia did. (THR)

]]>Today in random casting news, we’ve got three adaptations and a sequel. And they say Hollywood is running out of fresh ideas! To be fair, though, all four do show promise and pedigree. And if you’re the guy in charge of updating imdb.com – you’re welcome.

Jason Clarke has closed on one of the remaining key roles in Baz Luhrmann‘sThe Great Gatsby, signing on to play George Wilson, a cuckold husband with several big scenes. Clarke has a whole or two in his schedule since the cancellation of his police drama “The Chicago Code.”

Notable TV actor (not a slam, I promise) Josh Stewart has signed on for an undisclosed role in The Dark Knight Rises. My sources tell me that it’s unlikely he will play the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, but we will of course let you know as soon as possible should that be the case.

Ellie Kemper continues to parlay both”The Office” and Bridesmaids into more high-profile work, scoring a role in the currently-filming-in-New Orleans 21 Jump Street. She will play a sweet chemistry teacher who is also fooled by the identities of several of her students. Let’s all hope the sweet girl gets a happy ending and isn’t used as a human shield in a hostage situation or something.

Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist of Green Day, will be appearing in his band’s American Idiot film adaptation, playing the role of drug dealer St. Jimmy. He played the same role on Broadway last fall, then again when it closed, so this is old hat to him. His sneer will look even more punk in Imax.

]]>http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/casting-round-up-dark-knight-rises-21-jump-street-american-idiot-and-gatsby/feed/5Joel Edgerton Becomes Yet Another Australian Involved In ‘The Great Gatsby’http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/joel-edgerton-becomes-yet-another-australian-involved-in-the-great-gatsby/
http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/joel-edgerton-becomes-yet-another-australian-involved-in-the-great-gatsby/#commentsTue, 17 May 2011 23:46:16 +0000http://www.screenjunkies.com/?p=212576So many Aussies are involved in this project, I'm starting to understand why other countries hate when America does that to their works.

Edgerton caught Luhrmann’s eye in part due to his size, as F. Scott Fitzgerald had described Tom Buchanan as “one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven.” So it sounds like Edgerton will have the onus of having to portray a Yalie, a gentleman of the highest order. Let’s hope he cleans up well. (Deadline)

Those keeping track/who have OCD might remember that Tom Buchanan was going to be played by Ben Affleck, but apparently he had scheduling conflicts with another project – Argo, his next movie as director.

You might not recognize Edgerton or Evans’ names, but it’s possible you’ve seen their faces. Edgerton was in the last Star Wars movie, and Evans was in Clash of the Titans. So I guess it’s possible you saw them but don’t remember because of all the CGI. Good luck to both men – remember to touch gloves and keep it clean. Fight! (The Hollywood Reporter)

]]>Baz Luhrmann NOT casting an A-list superstar or Academy Award winner in The Great Gatsby is bigger news these days than if he does. With that introduction, I give you – big news. Newcomer Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki has been cast in the role of Jordan Baker. If the name doesn’t ring any bells, maybe you’ll remember her as the love interest of Nick Carraway. If that doesn’t ring any bells, relax. You’re still probably in the top quartile when it comes to literary prowess in America.

I could paraphrase Lurhmann’s thoughts on the casting decision, or I could pass on his words. Here they are:

“It was a surprising result, but Elizabeth’s grasp of the material and her chemical connectivity to Tobey Maguire, in addition to her striking, athletic appearance, had us in a place where we were fully confident and ready to take the leap of giving the role of Jordan Baker to what, I guess, people would term ‘a discovery.’ “

Her Gatsby co-stars include the aforementioned Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio as the man himself, and Carey Mulligan as Daisy. Debicki’s in for a bit of a trial by fire, having come straight from arts college. I wonder if she knows that Tobey Maguire beats his co-stars if they flub their lines. If she doesn’t, she will. (Deadline)

Debicki is such a newcomer that there doesn’t appear to be any confirmed photos of her on the Internet. That should change within the hour.

]]>Ben Affleck will not be playing the role of Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby because the Australian (damn you, Baz!) shooting schedule conflicts with his direction of a historical drama based on the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. It would appear that Argo takes precedence over Gatsby, so Baz Luhrmann and Co. will have to keep up the casting saga that is this film.

Gatsby still has Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan commited, and Isla Fisher is in talks to play Tom Buchanan’s mistress, Myrtle, so they’re not hurting for star power, but I was actually really looking forward to Ben Affleck hamming it up as an upscale jerk, a type that we haven’t seen him in since he was cast as the proprietor of Fashionable Male way back in Mallrats.

I feel really sorry for the casting director of The Great Gatsby. Where are you supposed to find a rich asshole in Hollywood on short notice? (Deadline)

DiCaprio is playing Gatsby, Maguire will play Nick Carraway (the book’s narrator), and Carey Mulligan will play Daisy Buchanan, a woman torn between her love for Gatsby and her boorish husband, Tom Buchanan. Ben Affleck has been approached for Tom, and if cast, Fisher will play his mistress. This is odd casting. Myrtle wasn’t this hot or young in the book. I saw her as more of a Christina Hendricks, but Fisher is a welcome addition to this cast. The only way to settle this is to have those two fight it out in my mind. To the Jelly Pit!! (THR)

]]>http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/isla-fisher-in-talks-to-loan-her-hot-redheadedness-to-the-great-gatsby/feed/1isla-fisherBen Affleck Joins The Most 3D ‘Great Gatsby’ Ever?http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/ben-affleck-joins-the-most-3d-great-gatsby-ever/
http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/ben-affleck-joins-the-most-3d-great-gatsby-ever/#commentsFri, 08 Apr 2011 02:32:17 +0000http://www.screenjunkies.com/?p=206082Ben Affleck is in talks to join director Baz Luhrmann's new version of the literary classic I somewhat remember from high school english class.

]]>Director Baz Luhrmann is putting the pieces together for his 3D (???) adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Hopefully one of those pieces is a catchy song by The Cardigans. I also wouldn’t mind a few guns labeled: “dagger.”

Ben Affleck is in talks to join Warner Bros’ new version of the literary classic I somewhat remember from high school english class. He would play the wife of Daisy (Carey Mulligan), Tom Buchanan, a guy who really loves the white race. He’s, like, the white race’s biggest fan. Affleck would join Leonardo DiCaprio as The Gatman and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway.

No word yet on how closely this adaptation will tie-in with the NES game. (Deadline)

“I’m not doing ‘Gatsby’ right now….Because despite what might be out there, I have made no comment about anything. So until I say it, it’s not said, you know,” says the director.

“What it means is, much like what goes on in any event, when you’re in the middle of the work, there’s all sorts of things you’re doing, and, you know, when I’m really clear — I, right now, my only focus is absorbing — I’ve been studying Fitzgerald now for three years, and my only act now is to absorb the DNA of his world, his life, the world of the novel. That’s why I have published on our website all the books we’re reading. And I think before we all engage anyone, the first thing to do is to do your homework, read the books, and then let’s talk,” he elaborated.

In other words, he wants to spend a significant amount of time drinking bourbon.

It can’t be that hard to nail the film adaptation. Rent a mansion, have Leonardo DiCaprio squint across the harbor, and then have a lot of yelling. The End. These film people, I tell ya. (Vulture)

]]>It had been previously rumored that Baz Luhrmann‘s upcoming adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby was going to puzzlingly be in 3D. Now this has been confirmed, so expect to see at least one scene of Leo DiCaprio as Gatsby playing paddle ball directly into the camera.

Also, Luhrmann is going to shoot The Great Gatsby in Australia, not New York City, the actual city where the book famously takes place. This isn’t because Luhrmann wishes to have kangaroos drinking gin and tonics in his version (although that would be adorable), but because the state government in Sydney lobbied hard for the designation, which will inject a ton of money into the economy there. Maybe after getting all that money Sydney will try to change its name and forget about its past. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

]]>http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/baz-luhrmanns-the-great-gatsby-to-be-in-3d-and-dingovision/feed/0gatsbystampCarey Mulligan Offered ‘The Great Gatsby’http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/carey-mulligan-offered-the-great-gatsby/
http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/carey-mulligan-offered-the-great-gatsby/#commentsTue, 16 Nov 2010 11:22:59 +0000http://www.screenjunkies.com/?p=8285Carey Mulligan consistently looks like she just woke up from a nap. A nap where she dreamed about crying. Despite this, she's a hot property in Hollywood these days.

Carey Mulligan consistently looks like she just woke up from a nap. A nap where she dreamed about crying. Despite this, she’s a hot property in Hollywood these days. So hot in fact, that she’s the go-to “not Natalie Portman.” After meeting with a bevy of hot, young actresses, Baz Luhrman has selected Mulligan to portray Daisy Buchanan in his adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Now all he has to do is decide if he’ll do the film or not himself. Sorry, readers.

“There are a few elements that I feel need to be resolved before I would categorically state that this is my next film,” says Luhrman. For instance, working out Leonardo DiCaprio’s schedule, getting Tobey Maguire to commit, and casting all the other roles. Time will tell on this one. If a few months go by and he announces another project, we’ll know this casting process was his excuse to try to meet Natalie Portman. Sly boots. (Deadline)

]]>http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/carey-mulligan-offered-the-great-gatsby/feed/1carey_mulliganBaz Luhrmann Invites Hollywood’s Hottest To ‘The Great Gatsby’ Casting Couchhttp://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/baz-luhrmann-invites-hollywoods-hottest-to-the-great-gatsby-casting-couch/
http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-news/baz-luhrmann-invites-hollywoods-hottest-to-the-great-gatsby-casting-couch/#commentsWed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000There can be only one.
As is the trend nowadays, Baz Luhrmann is using the casting process of his new film as an opportunity to meet Natalie Portman. The director is in search for an actress to portray Daisy Buchanan opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire in his adaptation of the classic novel, The Great Gatsby.
Luhrmann workshopped the script with DiCaprio, Maguire, and Rebecca Hall but wants to expand his efforts to find the right fit. Though Hall still remains in the running, the director is also planning to shoot tests with the usual suspects: Keira Knightley, Amanda Seyfried, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams, Scarlett Johansson, and the recently-single Blake Lively. I see what you're doing there Baz, and I'm disappointed. I'd expect that kind of behavior from John Mayer. Not from you. (Deadline)

As is the trend nowadays, Baz Luhrmann is using the casting process of his new film as an opportunity to meet Natalie Portman. The director is in search for an actress to portray Daisy Buchanan opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire in his adaptation of the classic novel, The Great Gatsby.